Does anyone have any good Cross Country tips?

Question

Im a Freshman this year and in cross country. I have been in Cross country for the last 2 years I was wondering if anyone had any good tips or ideas.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm a freshman in high school also and most of the courses you run at are filled with hills.  When you run up a hill, don'tt look down at your shoes or up to the sky praying h hill ends.  Say to yourself that this hill iseasysy.  Be confident with hills and you will be successful.

Answer 2

well, cross country is a fun, but challenging sport. make sure that you hydrate alot before you practice. Also, make sure you keep going. try not to stop running unless you have to. make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes with good arch supports, so you dont hurt your feet. also, make sure to remember that your #1 competition is yourself, so dont ever be dissapointed if you didnt win, just as long as you tryed your hardest and did your best.

Answer 3

The 5k or 5,000 meter run is 3.1 miles long

A good strategy often used by distance runner is the 2/3rds rule. This is a fancy way of saying run the first 2 miles at a realistic pace that you can handle for you current level of fitness. The last mile should be more of a challenging pace that you can maintain for the last mile.  If you run 9 min per mile up to this you will be at 27minutes, with 200 meters to the finish line. This would put your finishing time at about 28 minutes.   Two minutes under your goal.  

Your posting mentioned hills, so here is some idea on how to run the hills.

Note: Your posting did not specify where on the course the hill(s) are located or how there are or how long the hills are so that was not factored into the finishing time above.

Hills are a fun part of cross country (xc) racing, the can be used to your advantage of the can be a big disadvantage. As a result, the distance runner needs to mentally tough and attack it intelligently. Training on hills is the best way to learn how to run them. However, this the internet we don’t have that option available to us here..sorry.

Run the same pace going up the hill, but shorten you stride and lean into it as you start going uphill. This means that you will need to nee to pump your arms more. When you reach the peak you will be tempted to slow down...don't.

Once you reach the plate (mesa) maintain the same pace. However, if the hill has a downhill portion then try to run down the hill and carry to extra speed onto the flat portion of the course. This will give you an opportunity to further open up a gap on those runners behind you and close on those in front of you.

Good luck

Experience running cross country in hs and college

20 of experience running distance race: 5k - the marathon

10 of coaching high school distance runners for XC and T/F

Answer 4

well i love xcountry and first thing is u got to get urself to enjoy running. then you should think of a good stragey for racing, which u will discover during ur races. drink LOTS of water and eat alot of healthy food. dont get too nervous b4 races cuz it will just freak u out. and have fun! good luck gurl and run ur heart out! :)

Answer 5

cross country is a great sport. it's really fun and bonding. i recommend it to anyone. what you want to do is keep yourself going. don't stop and just know that every step you take will bring you closer to your goal. make sure you eat right and stay hidrated. you also want to keep your arm swing up. your arms will control your pace along with the rest of your body. a lot of people don't realize that running takes your whole body. make sure you stretch out before and after running. listen to your coaches and always try your best.

:)

Answer 6

Run at a good pace, dont get nervous, take a deep breath and tell yourself "im going to give my all"